Bumpy Sunday

My time at church on Sunday was frustrating. Nothing horrible happened. It was just a string of things that were a bit off.

I got to church late...
...the exits and entrances for Children's Church were disjointed...
...kids were scattered when they shouldn't have been...
...I was poorly prepared which in Murphy's law style correlated to having a large group if kids this week vs the small group I had the week before when I was much better prepared (though of course large numbers of kids and good preparation are always both good things)...
...I couldn't remember names that I should know by now...
...there was a misunderstanding to sort out...
...my own kids got involved in helping me tell the story in a way that I didn't (and don't) know how I should best handle...
...we lost a sharp pin...
...I forgot the matches to light the candle...
...the story telling materials ended up in a jumble...
...just as someone wanted to lock the main door I was dashing in and out trying to help find a child who had apparently made an unreported "detour"...
...I was loosing my patience with my own kids who couldn't seem to respond appropriately to my directions to help clean up the kids' area...
... and by the time I got that all taken care of we were the last ones out of the church ...
...and I had about an hour to pick up lunch (my first meal of the day), get home, eat it and get to work.

"How are you?" a co-worker asked.
Response: "I'm not firing on all cylinders." I felt very tired.

Hopefully I'll suceed in getting tuned up this week.

Seeking Spirit Sparks

What do I hear, what do I see?

God, there is so much that happens all at once in a group of kids in Sunday School. I don't think I can multi-task well enough to take it all in. As I'm working with the group, help me notice the things that are most important. What energizes each of the kids? Which ones are having trouble engaging? What's going on at those times? Help me understand what underlies those dynamics - what makes these kids tick? What are their wants, needs, interests, questions? How can I respond to these insights to help make their time at church time that will serve their spiritual lives well now and throughout their lives?

Saying More by Saying Less

No surprise to people who know kids: you loose their attention so fast when you talk.

However, talking is one of my most natural modes of communication. I often use an excessive amount of words when I do it, even for conversations with adults.

During Sunday School I try to engage kids in active participation. We have some routines they know & respond to well. I add some energy, some theatrics, hands on stuff, visual stuff, cues to maintain focus...still sometimes I find myself talking when it seems no one is listening.

I watch my kids' teachers and I'm impressed. I watch them on purpose to try to pick up on their techniques.

I want to find more & better ways to say more while saying less.

Something They Like

In spite of all the boredom sometimes associated with church, preferences to be in the play room, occassional requests not to go, and the impression that the most compelling part of the experience might be cookies after the service, I've also noted the following.

When my family was doing a little exercise that involved each of us saying something we like about each of the rest of us, one of my kids listed about me, the fact that I take them to church.

When things came together on a recent Sunday such that we didn't go to church, one of my kids was clearly disappointed.

My kids want to be able to have communion. They will say so, and if behavior issues have caused us to make an exit from the service, they want to get back in in time to receive communion.

To the best of my knowledege none of this comes from any negative motivation such as fear. I don't think things have been presented to them that way and I certainly hope that's not how they've heard things.

I think there are things that genuinely interest them and draw them to church. I don't know exactly what they are. I'd like to imagine deep positive spiritual impulses. It could easily be things much more mundane. Then again, we draw too much distinction between the the spiritual and the mundane. They're intricately intertwined.

I'd like to know what goes through my kids' heads. I'm probably better off not knowing for sure (as if I could). If I could put my finger on it, I'd be likely to go in and muck it up. This way I might keep a more open mind & heart: observing, experimenting, learning as we go, watching for the wind & the flame of the Spirit as it moves.

Freedom

If I were uninhibited I would dance in church.

If I were uninhibited I would raise my hands in church.

This Sunday at about a time in the service when I felt like raising my hands, but of course was too inhibited to do so, my 4 year old was prancing around the kids' rug area with a basket of toys raised above his head.

Am I projecting my sense of things onto him, or did he feel what I felt and have more freedom to respond than I did?